Overview
Timmons Group led a team of multi-disciplined professionals to evaluate a major automotive economic development opportunity for Augusta County and the Commonwealth of Virginia. This work was completed through our “on-call” Economic Development Consulting contract. Based on the extensive work on this project, four other municipalities in Virginia have hired Timmons Group to complete similar Mega-Site evaluations.
Augusta County had worked with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) to position a site in Weyers Cave for a new Toyota manufacturing facility. The County, The Augusta County Service Authority (ACSA), VEDP, Norfolk Southern and others had previously completed sketches that defined how the site could potentially meet the requirements of a “Mega” prospect like a Toyota Manufacturing Facility.
Timmons Group hired and managed a team of real estate professionals from Divaris Real Estate and attorneys from McGuire Woods to reach appropriate terms with the key land-owners in the area. This team completed appraisals, met with the land owners, negotiated terms and made recommendations to the County so that the land costs stayed within the project budget.
Concurrent with the real estate work, Timmons Group completed aerial topographic survey, preliminary wetland and cultural resource assessments, detailed road and utility infrastructure planning and preliminary site grading for a number of manufacturing layouts. These drawings were used as part of presentations to the prospect and Board of Supervisors, as well as to develop detailed project budgeting for the third element of the project. Our work included extensive and confidential coordination with the ACSA, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, Norfolk Southern, County Staff and the BOS to assure that each element of the project had detailed and responsible budgets.
The budgeting work summarized above provided exceptional financial models to calculate the potential return on investment the County could expect from winning this prospect. Timmons Group hired and managed a team of professionals from Echelon Resources and Chmura Analytics to develop the financial models and run various short and long-term scenarios. Our team compared the prospect with other similar manufacturing facilities in the United States and abroad to project the investment, jobs, primary and secondary benefits Augusta County could expect. These scenarios provided the County with substantial data to negotiate with the prospect, the VEDP and with the Governor’s office.
Toyota did not ultimately select Virginia for it’s newest manufacturing facility. The work Timmons Group completed for the Weyers Cave site raised the profile of the property and has positioned it as one of the premier economic development sites in Virginia. The County and the land-owner continue to consult with Timmons Group and look forward to another opportunity to land a major prospect.
